On Mode, Off Mode
by Haluwasa2
Summary: Bart has a plan to get Jaime off mode and asks Tye Longshadow to accompany in freeing him from the REACH. However, Tye starts to notice that Bart's plan may just be a little off...
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Here, have a daily does of feels for ya. I got myself sad writing this lol. I don't own Young Justice!

* * *

**On Mode, Off Mode**

Bart had a plan. He sped towards the base in Dakota City for the team simply known as the Runaways. It was no secret that they were working separate from the Justice League and their young covert ops team. But it was also know secret that Jaime's best friend Tye Longshadow was part of that team. Bart vibrated his molecules though the walls.

"Intruder Alert! Intruder Alert!" said that annoying overly calm woman that seemed to be on every alarm system. Bart began to run frantically through walls looking for Tye in the rooms. Bart had given himself and mission and the new superhero was very crucial to his mission. However he was stopped dead in his tracks by Eduardo.

"_Parada!_" grumbled the teleporter.

"No!" snapped Bart. "_Yo necesito ver Tye._"

"_Hables espanol?_" asked Ed, surprised.

"_No importante_," replied Bart trying to remember everything Jaime had taught him, "_Por favor. Yo necesito ver Tye. Es muy importante._" Ed looked skeptical, but Bart gave his best, most pleading, desperate eyes. "_Por favor._" Begrudgingly, Ed grabbed Bart's hand teleported them to where Bart assumed was the main room of the Runaway's base.

Several Lex Corp. computers lined the walls as well as tubed to various places on the surface. The other Runaway team members looked alarm as Ed popped in with Bart. Bart let out an exasperated sigh as they all took battle stances. He let go of Ed's hand and raised both of his in the air. He huffed out, "Listen, I come in peace. I just need to talk to Tye." The Native American boy sneered at him.

"I don't want anything to do with you," he said.

"Listen," said Bart, putting his hands down, "I wouldn't want anything to do with me either. Not after Star Labs. I'd be here with the rest of you."

"The why are you here?" asked Virgil. Out of all the Runaway's he was becoming the well-known leader, slowly making a name for himself-and super alias: Static Shock.

"Like I said, I need to talk to Tye," replied Bart.

"Whatever you can say to me, I want you to say to them," argued you Tye. Bart sighed and nodded in compliance.

"I know a way to get Jaime off-mode," he informed Tye.

"Off what?"

"Mode? Don't you know what mode is?" Bart furrowed his eyebrows.

"N-no. Is that why Jaime betrayed u- the human race?" Tye's eyes squinted as if he was thinking.

"Luthor told you nothing I see," Bart scoffed. "Mode is what the REACH did to Jaime. They turned on Khaji Da-that's the Scarab's name- to mode which means he's functioning properly for the REACH's ultimate goal."

"Crash the Mode," said Virgil, realizing. "That's that thing you say all the time." Bart nodded.

"And what do I play in all this?" asked Tye.

"You're his best friend Tye," sighed Bart. "I want you…to be there for Jaime…when he's crashed his mode."

"I can't believe you talked me into this," grumbled Tye as he and Bart scoped out a REACH factory building. Bart rubbed his temples as Tye complained. "How do we even know if this is gonna work? You haven't even told me your plan."

"I told you you're part, Tye," Bart told him, sighing. "I know this is mode, but it's going to work. I calculated the chances, they're pretty good."

"What are the chances?"

"Thirty four percent chances of success, give or take like five percent."

"Thirty four percent? Give or take?"

"You saying that you're doubting Jaime?"

"I hate you."

"I know."

* * *

Tye sighed and paced the roof angrily. Who was this Impulse that he could just drag him along, albeit willingly, to go and rescue someone with so little chance of success. What made Impulse think he was going to win at all? Tye had building up a superhero name for himself and the Runaways to do, but…the prospect of getting Jaime back. When Tye was in El Paso for anything he saw Jaime- no _Khaji Da_ the speedster had called him- talking with his parents, playing or fighting with Milagro, doing homework, and other normal stuff Jaime did. Everytime Tye saw his friend, it made him sick. But now, to know that it wasn't Jaime who had betrayed them, but the AI strapped to his back, he felt a guilty relief.

"Tye," the auburn haired speedster said suddenly. "It's time, let's go."

Tye huffed angrily as he and Bart were scaling up a blind side of the REACH factory, being as silent as possible. Or at least they were trying to be. Bart turned his head to look back at Tye. He had stopped asking what was wrong five minutes ago. The two had a building to climb, pointed knuckles dug into the much softer metal of the building. The air got colder as they climbed the building due to rising altitude and coming of night. The boys ignored the cold, but Tye still was displeased with the speedster.

"I'm just saying, if you have superspeed and I can turn into a giant person why can't we just tear the building down and grab Jaime or whatever?" Tye said they climbed.

"Because we need the element of surprise. Anything else will just strengthen Khaji Da's hold on Jaime," Bart explained. Tye was silent as they continued to climb for a few more minutes. Then the teen superhero made a grunting noise and Bart rolled his eyes. What was the question now? Bart just couldn't wait to hear it.

"You know a lot about the REACH," said Tye. "And about Jaime."

"I should," Bart replied. "My future as you may guess from all this is post-apocalyptic. People are in slave camps and metagene humans are either killed or strapped with inhibitor collars. I was one of the lucky ones."

"You weren't found out?" asked Tye.

"I had an inhibitor collar," Bart huffed. "They mark lower powers, those not related to the Justice League. A few members of the Justice League's family escaped with several. I got mine from…a friend that's on the team now."

"Oh." Tye was silent again for a long time, gnawing on his lip. He cleared his throat, "Impulse?"

"You can call me Bart," the speedster replied. "Jaime talked about you a lot when we were looking for all the abducted kids. He couldn't wait for us to meet. He would have wanted you to use my real name."

"Oh," said Tye, seemingly processing the information in his mind. "Alright, Bart." Bart gave a melancholy smile as they began to reach the top of the building. It was almost time and they were almost there.

* * *

Breathe coming in slow and deep, Bart and Tye slid there backs against the wall as they crept along in the REACH building. Compared to his orange shirt, Bart's slick black stealth suit was much better for sneaking around. Bart didn't care however. They were getting closer. Soon, the difference between stealth modes and orange tees weren't going to matter. Not that it really mattered now unless they got caught. Both traipsed quietly along the side of the wall. The room that Jaime was sure to be in was right there waiting for them.

Hastily, Bart sped across and pushed Tye down into a corner where he was hidden. He looked up at Bart confused. He tried to get up, but the speedster pushed him down once more, shaking his head of auburn hair. Tye narrowed his eyes at Bart as the speedster took a step back and grunted, "Stay here."

"Why? You're going to need help," Tye said.

"No, I'm not. You are to be there for Jaime and that's it. Until Jaime's off mode you're not safe so stay put."

"You're not safe either."

_That's the point. _"Don't worry about me, I'll be crash."

"How will I know when to come? Are you coming to get me?" Tye was growing an uneasy feeling about Bart's plan. He was starting to formulate different ideas about what Bart was going to do, but none of them were good. Especially for the speedster, who switched off his stealth mode. Tye decided not to argue with the futuristic teen and leaned back into the corner.

Bart sped to the door and entered. The automatic doors shut swiftly behind him. Khaji Da stood by the window with the armor on. Bart was thankful that he was not standing around attempting to look like Jaime. It would have been too hard to cope with. The beetle turned around the body of his host and had the gall to smirk at Bart.

"The Impulse," he said, in a voice that was Jaime's but sounded far too cold to be Jaime's. "Have you come to try to rescue Host Jaime Reyes? You chances of success are slim; your fight back is futile."

"As long as I can protect the future, no fight back is futile," Bart practically hissed back trying not to see what had become a comfort to him. Jaime in his beetle suit, smiling meaning all was crash and that modes were a thing of the past.

"You've failed your mission," Khaji Da told him, "Meat bag." Bart tried to stand tall and brave against his possessed friend. But the Scarab knew that those words stung more than any weapon the AI could use against him.

"Jaime is still in there," Bart snapped back. "There is still one last hope." Bart lunged forward with his speed and slid under Khaji Da, whipped around and kicked where the AI's true body was. The speedster flicked down his limb as the Scarab let out an annoyed gasp from the direct contact. Immediately with a metallic charge, Khaji Da whipped around and fired a plasma canon shot, which Bart ducked under and sped to another side of the room.

Bart lunged once more, only for him to be stopped and propelled back slightly by a sword arm, cutting open his left cheek. The speedster pressed it roughly as the blood trickled down the side of his face. Khaji Da smirked again and began to let out sonic pulses that sent Bart flying into the back of the room. The AI approached with the sword arm once and held Bart up against the wall.

"Heh, are you even trying?" asked Khaji Da. The Scarab raised the sword and swung it down; Bart flinched and closed his eyes, accepting his inevitable fate. Abruptly, the sword stopped above Bart's head. The speedster could feel the cold edge against the top of his head and he opened his eyes. He saw them- Jaime's brown eyes, frightened and shocked in the eyes of the suit. Was Khaji Da fooling him?

"B-Bart-?" began Jaime's voice, but was cut off by Khaji Da's cold imitation as beetle suits eyes went yellow again.

"Silence! You are no longer needed," hissed Khaji Da. "The Impulse must die."

"Khaji Da, stop," said Bart. "You don't have to do this. You don't have to do what the REACH wants you to do. They're using you. You and Jaime can work together."

"The Impulse lies."

"I'm not."

"More lies. The Impulse always lies until he can lie no more. Is that not how Host Jaime Reyes discovered the truth behind the future?" Bart cringed in annoyance. He had dug his own grave there despite trying to argue with Khaji Da. He knew he was going to have to go to the final option. He had known the entire time.

"I'm in a position where I can't lie anymore, Khaji Da," said Bart.

"The Impulse is up against a wall upon which he can easily vibrate through," said Khaji Da. "You can live to lie another day." Bart glared at the Scarab as allowed his molecules to go through the wall and then he flipped himself and vibrated back in to see the Scarab now holding his head.

"Bart is our friend."

"The Impulse is a liar. He deserves to die."

"You heard him. We don't have to do this."

"SILENCE!" That seemed to solve Khaji Da's problem for now. He would always fight Jaime back down. There was no other way than the final option. Khaji Da opened fire on Bart again who dodged them until he was tired, burned several areas and dried blood caked the left side of his body from the cut on his cheek leaking like there was a tsunami trying to push out of his cheek. Bart's breathing staggered as he stared at Khaji Da.

The Scarab was charging his plasma canon.

It was then that Tye entered. His eyes were wide as he saw what the AI was doing. Bart turned a head to him and mouthed his good bye. And then Khaji Da's weapon fired a shot that caused a shout from the Scarab of "NO!" and propelling the suited REACH agent backward. Tye stood back for a minute and then be remembered Bart's instructions.

Tye rushed over to his friend side. The Beetle suit had retracted, leaving Jaime there. Or at least what Tye hoped was Jaime. He shook his friend, "Jaime, Jaime." Only in his wildest dreams could he hope that it was actually Jaime that would be speaking to him when the Hispanic teen woke up. Jaime's eyes opened slowly, seeming almost confused. Tye bit his lip, "Jaime….?"

"T-Tye?" asked Jaime, sounding unsure. Tye wondered briefly if it was still Khaji Da controlling Jaime, but then Tye saw the look of horror wash over Jaime's face. He watched as Jaime's eyes widened and his body began to shake with fear realizing what had happened almost a moment ago. Jaime's mouth opened a bit in a gasp, but it was cut short as he screamed in alarm, "Bart!"

Jaime clambered passed Tye on his knees over to where the Speedster lay. Immediately, Tye watched as Jaime began CPR chest compressions on Bart. As he sighed, he sat down near Jaime his eyebrows furrowed in pity. He hadn't wanted to look, but he did. Bart had bad burns from the plasma canon shot all over his body, blood leaked from a deep cut on his left cheek, and there was a huge wound just under his heart and above his stomach where the hit had struck the speedster. Bart's eyes were closed.

"Come on, _ese_," muttered Jaime as he did the chest compressions. "Bart, don't leave me. You have to go home. You have to go back to the future! You fixed it now, see? My…My mode is crashed… You can go home." Tye watched as Jaime's hand became enveloped in the blood that spilled like a waterfall out of Bart's body. Tears leaked down Jaime's face. "_Chingada! _Bart, come on! You need to go home. Your parents! They'll be alive! And your grandpa! Bart, please, please…."

It was then that Jaime saw Tye sitting next to him. With pleading eyes he requested, "Put pressure on his wound." Tye sat there and shook his head at his friend. Jaime bit his lip and yelled, "Tye, _por favor_, put pressure on the wound!" Jaime continued to push down rapidly on Bart's chest.

Tye got behind his friend and pulled him off, Jaime struggled and cursed and cried at his fired. Tye huffed sadly, "Jaime, stop! Stop! There's nothing you can do."

Jaime looked up at Tye, he felt and looked like a scared child. He didn't want to accept the truth, but it was staring him in the face. Tye sighed at his friend mournfully.

"He's gone."

_  
Translation:

_Parada_- Stop

_Yo necesito ver Tye._- I need to see Tye

_Hables espanol?_ –You speak Spanish?

_No importante- _That's not important

_Es muy importante- _It's very important

_Por favor_- Please


	2. Alternate Ending

**A/N:** The original one made me and my friends so sad that I wrote a happy alt. ending to it. Still don't own Young Justice.

* * *

_But what if Tye had come a moment sooner?_

Tye watched as Bart vibrated out of the wall and back in again. Curiosity killed that cat, Tye supposed. He heard gunfire erupt as he crept along the wall and then entered the room. Bart and Khaji Da's eyes turned towards him, both wide eyed. Bart seemed shock almost as if Tye had come early. Khaji Da smirked at them and, chuckled darkly and turned to face Tye.

"Oh shi-,"began Tye only to be pushed out of the way by a tan and red streak which slammed back against the wall as Blue Beetle was propelled backwards with a yell of, "NO!" Tye shut his eyes closed for a minute. He knew his part.

Tye rushed over to Jaime or at least who he thought was Jaime. Tye could only hope as he sat down by the Hispanic teen that it would be Jaime that he would be speaking to when he woke up. Slowly, his eyes blinked open, he began to speak, and sounding confused asked "T-Tye?" Tye nodded, biting his lip, still unsure whether this was actually his friend or whether it was still Khaji Da trying to fool him. However, all doubts were washed from his mind as a true look of horror washed over Jaime's face, the teen beginning to quake in fear in remembrance of what had occurred. He gasped in fear, "Bart!"

Jaime scrambled over to where Bart's body lay and he started doing CPR chest compressions. Tye walked over to them. Bart was badly burned from the blast, but the way he had dived to save Tye had kept him from getting a direct shot. There was a bad wound in his side however and blood spilled out of his left cheek. Tye watched as Jaime checked Bart's pulse and sighed in relief.

"He's okay?" asked Tye, surprised.

"He's crash…okay maybe not crash, but he's alive," said Jaime, picking up Bart bridal style, "It'll be awhile before he'll have enough energy to wake up though…I'm so glad…so glad I didn't…didn't…" Tye put and arm on his friend's shoulder and nodded his head. He understood.

"Let's get this kid to a hospital," said Tye. Unsure of himself at first, pausing longer than he should have considering that the REACH guards would be there any minute without a doubt, Jaime pulled up his suit and picked up Tye, so as to not attract with attention with the Apache decedent's astral plane body.

* * *

Tye and Jaime were in civvies as the watched as sleeping Bart breath as he slept, hooked up to an IV and in a hospital gown. Jaime's chair was pulled up next to Bart's bed, holding the sleeping boy's hand as he repeated apologies over and over again under his breath to go with the beeping of the heart moniter.

"He's going to be okay, Jaime, the doctor said-," began Tye.

"I know what she said," Jaime replied. "But she also said that he could go into a coma."

"Holding his hand and saying you're sorry over and over won't change if he does," said Tye.

"I know…it just makes me feel better, _ese_," said Jaime as he squeezed Bart's hand. "You and him are my best friends."

"He's gonna wake up with his hand asleep," said Tye closing his eyes as he sat in the chair. Jaime sighed and continued to hold Bart's hand. The doctor walked in and they looked up again. She smiled sadly at them.

"He hasn't woken up yet," said Jaime.

"Give it time," she told them. "His family called back. They're on their way."

"Thank you for telling us, Dr. Ayala," Jaime said. She nodded and exited the room, reminding them to call her as soon as Bart woke up. Jaime pressed his head to the mattress of the hospital bed. The wait was antagonizing. What if Bart never woke up and it was his fault? What would Jaime tell Bart's family? _Oh, lo siento, I put your time traveling grandson into a coma while the REACH had control over me. No hard feelings right?_ And if Bart did wake up, how could Jaime ever face him again?

/_The Impulse will not judge you for any actions, Jaime Reyes,_/ Khaji Da informed him from on his back. /_His intentions were to bring you off mode and he accomplished his mission. He was prepared to die to complete the job. Be glad he did not perish._/

'_Go away,_' thought Jaime bitterly towards the AI, '_Haven't you caused enough trouble, ese? This is all your fault anyway._'

/_Without the malfunction, my freewill ceases to exist, Jaime Reyes. I was not myself either. I was a REACH agent, not Khaji Da._/ The Scarab informed Jaime.

'_Oh, that's right, you have a _NAME _now too, '_Jaime angrily thought.

/_Yelling at me will do no good,_/ The Scarab reminded him, /_And neither will your useless chant of apologies. The Tye Longshadow is correct._/

"Look you annoying-!" Jaime began yelling at his back.

"C-Come on, Jaime…I haven't even…said anything…yet…not crash."

"Bart?" asked Jaime as his head flashed up to see Bart, green eyes half opened to look at him and smiling blissfully.

"The one and only," he replied.

"I'll go get Dr. Ayala," said Tye, getting up and stretching, "Good to see you alive, Bart."

"You too," Bart replied. He and Jaime watched as Tye left the room. Bart smiled at Jaime again, "We did it."

"No, _hermano_, you did it."

* * *

"JAIME! Bart fell off the skateboard…again!"

"Coming!" Jaime grabbed up his homework papers, shoved them into his book bag and then dashed outside where Bart was sitting on the pavement, an orange and red skateboard flipped upside down and Tye looking at the auburn haired teen, shaking his head.

"Oy, _hermano_, you're going to hurt yourself!" Jaime exclaimed, helping Bart up.

"But I wanna skate like you and Tye," Bart said. "Besides, I'll get eventually."

"I say he gives up," Tye advised. "Kid can run around the world in seconds, but put him on a skateboard and he flops worse than a fish out of water."

"I don't give up! Ever!" Bart declared and tried to get back on the skateboard, but Jaime pulled him off.

"Why don't you take a break for now? It's lunch time," Jaime told him. Bart gasped in surprise that he had forget how late it was getting. He gave Jaime a hug of gratitude. The brunette teen looked down at the smaller future boy. From his above angle, Jaime could see the faintest white scar across Bart's face. But then, the speedster was gone.

Tye had a raised eyebrow. Jaime gave him a couple seconds stare before Tye, smirked as he shook his head, walking back inside. Confused, Jaime followed him. What was his friend implying? Jaime cleared his throat and asked, "What's up?"

"…When are you two gonna stop pretending that you're not interested in each other?"

Jaime choked on air and coughed a little. He spluttered out, "Wh-what are you talking about!? I'm not interested in Bart! Especially not-!"  
/_Tye is correct. When Bart is near you're body increases its temperature by over 20% and your heart rate increases by 30%. You are interested in him as a potential mate. Boyfriend as I believe it's called._/

"You're on my back! So stop backing his argument, _ese_!" Jaime scolded Khaji Da.

/_There is no harm in looking for a Queen to mate with Jaime Reyes. Bart's own physical make and personality is complimentary to your own and would be a perfect choice as your future mate._/

"I hate both of you," Jaime said as he started rubbing his temples. Tye laughed and prodding Jaime several times about "just admitting" and even tried using how happy Cassie and Roy were once they admitted liking each other. Jaime punched Tye in the arm lightly and chided, "Fine you admit to liking Asami…or was it Nightwing this week?"

"I don't have a crush on Asami! O-Or Nightwing!" Tye snapped going red in his tan face. At that moment, the original Batman trainee walked by and patted Tye on the head.

"Wait a few years, kid, and we'll talk!"

Tye and Jaime froze in place and stared as Nightwing walked away. The two of them looked at each other, back to where Nightwing disappeared and then looked at each other. They started laughing hysterically. Tye was redder than a cherry and Jaime practically couldn't breathe. At that moment Bart ran up with a bag of chicken whizzies.

"Oh! I always miss all the good jokes!"


End file.
